T 1602/15 14-01-2020
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Liquid supply apparatus
I. The opponent filed an appeal against the decision of the opposition division on the amended form in which European patent No. 1 916 104 can be maintained.
II. The oral proceedings before the board took place on 14 January 2020.
III. The appellant (opponent) requested that the decision under appeal be set aside and the patent be revoked.
The respondent (patent proprietor) requested that the decision under appeal be set aside and the patent be maintained in amended form according to one of auxiliary requests I to VI, filed together with the response to the statement of grounds of appeal by letter dated 7 March 2016, or that the case be remitted to the first instance if a new ground of opposition was introduced.
IV. The appellant declared that it had no objections against auxiliary request I.
The respondent withdrew its main request (maintenance of the patent as upheld by the opposition division) during the oral proceedings before the board. Thus, a decision by the board on the main request is not required.
The appellant has not raised any objection against auxiliary request I. The board sees no good reason to raise objections against this request of its own motion. Therefore, this request is allowed.
For these reasons it is decided that:
1. The decision under appeal is set aside.
2. The case is remitted to the opposition division with the order to maintain the patent in amended form on the basis of:
- claims 1 to 16 according to auxiliary request I filed with letter dated 7 March 2016,
- the description page 2 as submitted during the oral proceedings on 14 January 2020 and pages 3 to 6 of the patent specification and
- figures 1 to 9 of the patent specification.